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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range.






2. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






3. Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional - flowery music; written in strict form.






4. Short detached notes - as opposed to legato.






5. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.






6. A quick - improvisational - spirited piece of music.






7. A group of 4 instruments - two violins - a viola - and cello.






8. A complex piece of music. Usually the first movement of the piece serving as the exposition - a development - or recapitulation.






9. Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.






10. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.






11. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.






12. A symbol indicating to play loud.






13. A dance written in triple time - where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.






14. The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two - three - four beats to a measure.






15. A contrapuntal song written for at least three voices - usually without accompaniment.






16. Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.






17. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






18. A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the moving part of a trombone.






19. A solo concert with or without accompaniment.






20. When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches - all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.






21. The voice between soprano and alto. Also - in sheet music - a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.






22. Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.






23. An extended cantata on a sacred subject.






24. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






25. Written for 2 to 10 solo parts featuring one instrument to a part. Each part bears the same importance.






26. A loose collection of instrumental compositions.






27. A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.






28. System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.






29. Lowest female singing voice.






30. Three notes played in the same amount of time as one or two beats.






31. Often used in overtures - a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.






32. A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase - either in the middle or the end of a composition.






33. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






34. A repeated phrase.






35. A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time - always beginning on the third beat of the measure.






36. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






37. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






38. A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.






39. Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.






40. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






41. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






42. Closing section of a movement.






43. Pertains to tone or tones.






44. The technique of altering the tone color of a single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the middle of a note or line.






45. Where the musical themes and melodies are developed - written in sonata form.






46. A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.






47. Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.






48. The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.






49. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






50. The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.